Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Pledges 'Decisive Actions to Protect Our Country'

Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba has said his country and its partners are ready for "decisive actions" to protect Ukraine as the U.S. warns Russia could invade in the coming days.

Kuleba took to Twitter following a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday amid warnings that Russia could launch an attack before the end of the Winter Olympics.

Kuleba tweeted: "In our call, @SecBlinken and I discussed joint countering of Russian threats. Additionally to military aid, the US is ready to provide enhanced support to Ukraine's economy."

"Russia must have no doubt: Ukraine and its partners are ready for decisive actions to protect our country," the foreign minister said.

Kuleba also tweeted about a call with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell Fontelles, confirming that the bloc was preparing potential sanctions on Russia.

"The EU will make extra effort to provide Ukraine with political, financial support. Grateful for a resolute stance, readiness for decisive actions," Kuleba wrote.

Newsweek has asked the State Department for comment.

Blinken is scheduled to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday while President Joe Biden will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The secretary of state is expected to express the "unity and resolve" of U.S. allies and partners on the issue of Ukraine.

Biden is scheduled to speak to Putin directly on Saturday morning, with an official telling Reuters: "They will be speaking Saturday morning. Russia proposed a call Monday. We counter-proposed Saturday, and they accepted."

The U.S. warned on Friday that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could be imminent and that an attack could take place before the end of the 2022 Winter Olympics, currently underway in Beijing, China. The Games are due to end on February 20.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that the Biden administration had "not seen anything come to us that says a final decision has been taken [or] the go order has been given."

"What I will say—and the reason I'm up here talking in the way I am to American citizens, the reason we are taking the various actions we're taking, the reason the president convened our closest allies and partners from across the NATO alliance and the European Union is because we believe he very well may give the final go order," Sullivan said at a press briefing on Friday.

"That is a very distinct possibility. But we are not standing here before you today and say, 'The order has been given. The invasion is on,'" he said.

Sullivan would not discuss the details of intelligence, but warned that an invasion "could begin during the Olympics, despite a lot of speculation that it would only happen after the Olympics."

While the U.S. has repeatedly warned that Russia is poised to invade Ukraine, the Russian government has consistently denied that is their intention, despite amassing around 100,000 troops on the countries' border.

The Russian ambassador in Washington, D.C. Anatoly Antonov told Newsweek on Friday that Sullivan's remarks "sound alarmistic."

"We see such statements only as a desire of the U.S. administration to maximize the magnitude of the propaganda campaign against our country and foster the impression among the public that 'aggression' is imminent," Antonov said.

"Claims by politicians of Russia's plans to 'attack' Ukraine during or after the Olympics are not substantiated by any evidence," he went on. "Washington continues just to splurge by invoking some kind of intelligence and not providing its details."